


The 5 Times Barry Kisses Julian and the 1 Time Julian Kisses Barry

by cleverly



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Basically everything that happened in the second half of season 3 didn't happen here!, First Kiss, Fluff, Julian and Barry are both idiots, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Post Episode: s03e09 The Present
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 02:17:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11174928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cleverly/pseuds/cleverly
Summary: Barry's mixed-signals are slowly driving Julian insane.





	The 5 Times Barry Kisses Julian and the 1 Time Julian Kisses Barry

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this months ago, long before the second half of season 3 started. Because of that, pretend that the second half of the season didn't happen! No Savitar, no proposal, no speed force, and no one dies!

**1.**

Barry laughs as he watches Julian struggle with the mixer. Julian had asked Barry to help him make cookies for Joe’s Christmas party, confessing that he wasn’t very handy in the kitchen. A fact that Barry had personally got to witness for himself in the last hour. 

Julian wasn’t exaggerating when he said he didn’t cook. From smashing several eggs in a failed attempt to crack them to spilling over half the bag of flour on the counter and floor, when he tried to measure enough to put in the bowl. Barry just accepted the fact that Julian Albert could not cook. At all.

Feeling slightly guilty over laughing at the blonde man’s distress, Barry walks over to Julian and turns off the mixer. Taking in Julian’s appearance, Barry tries to cough away another laugh that threatens to come out. 

In addition to the flour, Julian had somehow managed to also get several bits of batter as well on himself. From his hair to his clothing. 

“Okay, you weren’t kidding when you said you were terrible.” Barry says, grinning down at Julian, who lets out a groan of frustration and glares at Barry.

“You got batter on your cheek.” Barry informs him, pointing his finger to where the batter rested above Julian’s cheek bone. “How did you manage that?”

Julian huffs as he brings his hand up and rubs it against his face, trying to get rid of the batter. Pulling his hand away, he looks to Barry with a raised eyebrow. “Gone?”

“Nope.” Barry chirps, “still there.”

Frowning, Julian attempts again to remove the food from his face. And fails. Again.

Chuckling at Julian’s increasing irritation, Barry bats the man’s hand away from his face.

“Here, let me.” 

Leaning in towards Julian, Barry presses his lips to Julian’s cheek. If Barry focused hard enough, he could practically feel Julian’s skin warming under his lips. Pulling away, Barry licks his lips and grins. “Mmm, tastes good.”

Julian stares back at the brunette, eyes wide and face flushed. Taking in Julian’s expression, Barry realizes what he had just done and halts. 

“Uh—“ He stutters, turning his eyes away from the blonde and looking back towards the mixer. “We better put the batter on the tray and into the oven, or they’ll never be ready for the party tonight.”

From his left, Barry hears Julian clear his throat. “You’re right, Allen. I’ll be back in a minute, just going to the loo to clean up.”

Barry listens as Julian walks away, the sound of the bathroom door closing around the corner. Barry lets out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding and runs a hand through his hair, not caring about the flour he is probably putting in it.

Down the hall, Julian splashes water on his face, to hopefully cool his flushing face. Look at his reflection with wide eyes, he thinks, _what the hell was that?_

 

**2.**

Julian thanks Iris, as she hands him a glass of eggnog. Taking a sip, he winces at the strong taste. Somehow, it was even stronger than he remembers from last year. He glances around the room, looking at his friends; his eyes land on Barry, who is talking to Cisco.

His face warms as he remembers their encounter in his kitchen from earlier that day. The other man’s actions had left him confused; although considering his reaction following it, Julian could only assume Barry was equally shocked by what he had done.

 _Why did he do it?_ Is a question Julian had asked himself a million times over the last several hours, yet no concrete answer came to mind. 

Subconsciously, Julian brings his hand up, his fingers touching where Barry’s lips had been hours before. Realizing what he was doing, he removes his hand, his eyes quickly seeking out Barry across the room, hoping his action had gone unnoticed.

He sighs in relief when he sees Barry is still deep in conversation with Cisco, his back to Julian. He then looks down at his hand, adjusting the bandage on his wrist. When taking the cookies out of the oven earlier, Julian had accidentally burned himself; just another reason Julian shouldn’t be allowed to cook.

Turning his thoughts away from his injury, Julian takes another sip of his eggnog, the drink going down a little easier the second time, before he wanders over to Caitlin to talk to her.

A few hours and several glasses of eggnog later, Julian is feeling light and happy, all thoughts of the day’s earlier events gone from his mind. He is sitting next to HR on the sofa, laughing at a joke he just said, although Julian didn’t have the faintest idea what it meant. 

Resting his head back against the sofa, he looks to his left where Barry is leaning against the wall, talking with Joe. As if feeling Julian’s gaze, Barry looks over at the blonde and smiles warmly, before excusing himself from Joe and walking over to Julian.

“You’re drunk, aren’t you?” Barry teases, sitting down in the sea HR had just abandoned.

“Well, some of us aren’t immune to alcohol, Allen.” Julian pouts and swats at Barry’s chest. Barry grins and catches Julian’s hands in his, linking their fingers together.

Julian looks at their joined hands, his breath catching when Barry brings Julian’s hand up to his lips and kisses his bandaged wrist. Barry asks quietly, “Does it still hurt?”

“No,” Julian answers faintly, his head feeling light. Whether it was from the alcohol or Barry’s kiss, he couldn’t say.

 

**3.**

Remembering they weren’t alone, Barry clears his throat awkwardly and drops Julian’s hand on the sofa between them. “Do you think it’s about time you get home? The party is about over.”

Nodding, Julian attempts to stand up, swaying as his head spins, still feeling lightheaded. Barry quickly places his hand on Julian’s waist, steadying him. 

“Come on, I’ll drive you home.” 

Julian hums in acknowledgment, suddenly feeling rather sleepy. He allows Barry to lead him through the room to the door, half heartedly waving goodbye to the room and wishing everyone a Happy Christmas. Barry wraps Julian’s coat around his shoulders, before leading him to his car.

The ride to Julian’s apartment is silent, the only sound coming from the radio, which plays Christmas music. Barry keeps the radio on low when he notices Julian nodding off shortly after getting into the passenger seat. Due to the holiday and the time of night, the roads were rather empty, and the pair arrives at Julian’s in less than 10 minutes. Looking over at the sleeping man, Barry feels somewhat guilty having to wake him up. Shaking the blonde’s shoulder gently, he whispers, “Julian, we’re here.”

Julian’s eyes blink open, taking a few moments to adjust to suddenly waking up, before his eyes fall on Barry. He smiles sleepily at the speedster and nods, before unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the door. In a blink, Barry races to the other side of the car, making sure that Julian doesn’t stumble again.

“You don’t have to bring me to my door, Allen.” Julian mumbles, as Barry guides him to the door. “I’m not that drunk.”

Barry chuckles, “of course you’re not. But just to be on the safe side, I’m going to help you anyway.” 

“You’re too nice for your own good.” Julian pulls out his keys, handing them over to Barry after fumbling and failing to unlock the door.

Barry hums in reply, as he opens Julian’s door and ushers the blonde inside, leading him to his bedroom.

Julian allows Barry to maneuver him to his bed, kicking his shoes off before getting in. 

“Are you going to be okay?” Barry questions, once the blonde is under the covers.

“Yes,” Julian confirms, his eyes beginning to feel heavy again. He rests his head against his pillow, not caring that he was still wearing his dress pants and shirt. It was time to sleep. “Merry Christmas, Barry.” He mumbles faintly into his pillow, feeling himself slowly losing consciousness. 

Before he falls asleep, he feels a faint press of lips against his forehead and a voice whisper, “Merry Christmas, Julian.”

 

**4.**

Julian places his coffee mug on his desk, before turning towards the file in front of him. It was December 26th, the day after Christmas, and while Julian loves the Holidays, he was prepared to get back to work. Unlike Barry, who still has not arrived and was currently 20 minutes late. Even a year after discovering Barry was The Flash, Julian still couldn’t figure out how despite the man’s super speed, he was always late for work.

Thinking about Barry reminded Julian of Christmas eve, when Barry had kissed him, not once or even twice, but three times. The man’s actions had left Julian confused and flustered, spending all of Christmas day wondering exactly what it all meant. 

In the past year, Julian’s feelings for Barry had changed and grown into something more than friendship. For months, he ignored those feelings; bottling them up, because Barry was happily in a relationship with Iris. But, when Iris and Barry split up at the end of the summer, Julian had began allowing himself to feel hope. Hope that there was a chance for his feelings to be reciprocated. 

But his hope was entirely based off mix signals; the blonde had no clue if Barry felt something for him, he wasn’t even sure if Barry was interested in men. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he frowns down at his coffee. Barry was slowly driving him insane.

As if knowing the other man was thinking about him, Barry races through the door that moment, clearly frazzled. 

“Sorry, sorry!” Barry states as he rushes into the room, dropping his bag off on his desk. “I honestly don’t even have an excuse for being late today, my alarm just did not go off.”

Julian chuckles at the other man, taking in his appearance. Barry had used his super speed that morning to get ready, Julian notes, if the buttons that were incorrectly buttoned were anything to go by. The blonde had seen Barry change quickly with his speed before, which had left him feeling a little breathless on more than one occasion, and Barry was usually good at getting all the details correct.

Clearly something must be on his mind when he was getting ready this morning, Julian considers. He wonders if Barry was thinking about him and the three kisses from Christmas, but he shakes his head, dismissing that thought as quickly as it comes.

“Don’t worry about it, Allen.” Julian says, waving his hand in a dismissive manor. “Our work load is quite small today, so I haven’t even begun myself.”

Barry smiles in relief, sitting down at his desk. 

“Besides,” Julian continues with a smirk, “I’m used to your tardiness by now.” 

Barry glares half-heartedly, causing Julian’s smirk to morph into a grin as he laughs. Barry laughs along with him, before setting up his desk to start working.

The two work in companionable silence for much of the morning, only breaking the silence to ask each other a question every now and then. While Julian did enjoy the comfortable silence between him and Barry, he still could not manage to get the kisses off his mind. Several times he found himself almost voicing his thoughts, but he lost his nerve each time.

Around 1PM, Barry shuts his laptop and stretches his arms over his head, loosening his stiff muscles. 

“You hungry yet, Albert?” Barry asks, “I think it’s about time for lunch. You want me to pop out quickly for Thai?”

Julian agrees and Barry arrives back a few moments later with their food, the smell of spices filling the air. 

“Thanks.” Julian says, making his way across the room to Barry’s desk, where Barry is setting out their food. In the last year, whenever they ate lunch in the lab, they ate together at one of their desks. Julian would probably deny it if asked, but he looked forward to their meals together; it was one of the best parts of his day. Pulling up a chair, Julian sits down and grabs his takeout container.

Taking a bite out of his chicken, Julian moans in appreciation, savouring the flavour as he chews. Across the desk, he hears Barry let out a strangled cough. Looking up from his food, his eyebrows draw together in concern as he notices Barry choking on his fried rice.

“You okay, Barry?” He inquires, reaching across the desk to pat Barry on the back.

“Yeah,” Barry assures him, clearing his throat, shifting in his seat while not meeting Julian’s eye. Julian eyes him skeptically, noticing that Barry’s neck had flushed red, before shrugging and returning to his food. They sit eating in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, until Barry’s phone beeps. Looking at the screen, he curses under his breath and looks up at Julian apologetically. Before Barry can speak, Julian asks, “Someone needs you to save their life? Go, I’ll cover for you.”

Barry scrambles out of his seat, flinging his bag over his shoulder. “You’re the absolute best, Jules.” Making sure he has everything, he leans across the desk quickly and gives the blonde a peck on the lips. Before Julian could blink, Barry is gone, leaving his half-eaten lunch and the ghost of his lips on Julian’s.

 

**5.**

No, Julian was not avoiding Barry. Absolutely not. Except, he was.

Following their last encounter in the lab, Julian proceeded to avoid the brunette like the plague. Not that it had been a difficult feat, for Barry was avoiding Julian as well. If Barry was evading him, he clearly regrets kissing him; the thought of rejection leaves Julian’s heart feeling heavy. It was now New Year’s Eve, five days since Barry had last kissed Julian and Julian is sitting in a random bar, surrounded by happy patrons, celebrating the coming new year, feeling sorry for himself.

Gesturing to the bartender for another scotch, he glances around the room. _I should’ve just stayed home,_ he thinks sullenly. Being in a bar, drinking your sorrows away under normal circumstances was sad, but doing it on New Year’s Eve was just plain pathetic. Deciding that he would leave after his next drink, he thanks the bartender and takes a generous sip, letting the alcohol burn his throat.

Checking his watch, his eyes widen as he realizes that it was almost midnight. He had somehow lost track of the time. Finishing off his drink in one final gulp, he places the glass back on the bar top and pulls his wallet out of his coat pocket. Dropping probably more than enough money on the counter for the bill, leaving the bartender a very generous tip, he wishes the bartender a Happy New Year, before turning to leave. 

He stops in his tracks, however, when he sees who walks through the door at that exact moment—Barry. Heart pounding, he watches as Barry scans the room quickly, before his eyes land on him. He feels his face grow hot, which he knows he cannot blame on the scotch, as Barry walks across the room, stopping a few feet away from him.

“Julian,” Barry starts, when he reaches him. He looks out of breath, his clothes wrinkled and his hair windswept, as if he had just been running. _Why had he been running?_

“Allen? Why do you look so disheveled?” 

“I’ve been running all over the city, looking for you.” Barry confesses, looking sheepish.

Julian raises an eyebrow, “really?” 

“Yeah,” Barry admits, rubbing the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. “You didn’t come to Joe’s New Year’s party.”

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he looks away from Barry and shuffles his feet. “Well, you’ve been avoiding me for the last few days, so I thought I’d save you the trouble and just not come.”

Taking a quick glance over at Barry, he notices the shameful look on his face. _Good, you should feel guilty._

“I am so sorry, Jules. I feel awful, I hope you’ll forgive me.”

Julian, hearing the sincerity in Barry’s voice, meets his remorse-filled eyes. A moment of silence pass between them, before Julian lets out a sigh. “Yes, Allen, I forgive you. If I’m being honest, I was avoiding you as well. I am sorry, too.” 

Barry nods in understanding as his features soften in relief and Julian knows he’s forgiven. They stand in front of each other for several moments in silence, looking at one another, waiting for the other to make the next move. Their silence is broken however by the cheers of the bar patrons, as they begin the New Years countdown. 

_10_

_9_

Looking up at Barry with wide eyes, he finds Barry already looking at him. 

_8_

_7_

Barry steps forward, closing the remaining distance between them.

_6_

_5_

Julian feels like his heart is going to burst out of his chest.

_4_

_3_

He holds his breath, waiting.

_2_

_1_

“Happy New Year, Julian.” Barry whispers, closing the gap between them. Realizing Barry is aiming his lips at his cheek, Julian turns his head, causing Barry’s lips to catch the corner of Julian’s mouth. Due to their proximity, Julian hears Barry’s breath catch, before he begins pulling away.

 _Not again_ , Julian thinks.

 

**+1.**

Before he loses his nerve, Julian’s hands come up and latch onto the back of Barry’s neck. Beneath his fingertips, he could feel Barry’s pulse beating fast. Julian smiles at that, feeling lightheaded knowing that Barry was just as affected by Julian as Julian was by him. Stroking his thumb along the curve of Barry’s neck, he closes the distance between them, bringing their lips together.

Julian feels Barry freeze beneath his lips and for a moment, Julian feels like he made a mistake. That he misread everything that has happened between him and the other man. That everything that had happened in the last few weeks, especially, were horribly misinterpreted. But then, before he could pull away, Barry clutches onto Julian’s hips, pressing back against Julian’s mouth. 

Barry lets out a quiet groan of approval as Julian tugs on the hair at the nape of Barry’s neck. Julian tentatively licks along Barry’s lower lip, making the brunette open his mouth in a gasp. Julian, feeling brave, moves his tongue around Barry’s mouth, his pulse jumping when his tongue meets Barry’s with a glide. Barry tightens his hold on Julian, pressing his body closer to the blonde. They lose themselves in each other for several minutes until Julian, remembering they are in public, pulls away breathless. 

Barry slowly opens his eyes, looking at Julian in awe. “Wow.

“Wow, indeed.” Julian agrees with a chuckle.

“I honestly never thought that would happen.”

“Well Allen, it probably never would have, if I left it to you to make the first move.”

**Author's Note:**

> I never thought I'd find the inspiration to finish it, but I finally did and I'm so glad! I hope you enjoyed it, too.


End file.
